National Standards
NGSS: by Debbie Denise Reese Ph.D.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013)
Primary Standards: Earth and Space Science
Selene provides a concrete analog for how the Earth formed and changed over time. Players age 9 and up discover and apply basic planetary geology concepts as they form the Earth’s Moon and change it to replicate 4.5 billion years of lunar history. Prepared with new knowledge that makes viewing meaningful, students can observe Moon, construct scientific explanations that unravel the past, and apply these to Earth.
Middle School History of Earth
MS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system. (As supported by Framework ESS1.B. Earth and the Solar System. The solar system appears to have formed from a disk of dust and gas, drawn together by gravity. See Committee on Conceptual Framework for the New K-12 Science Education Standards & National Research Council, 2011)
MS-ESS1-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
MS-ESS1-4. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history.
MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
High School History of Earth
HS-ESS1-6. Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth’s formation and early history.
HS-ESS2-3. Develop a model based on evidence of Earth’s interior to describe the cycling of matter by thermal convection.
Secondary Standards: Physical Science
Scientific phenomena underlying the origin and history of fundamental Earth and Space science occur within systems that include topics identified within the physical sciences. For example, during the Accretion module, Selene players apply scientific principles measured by standards MS-PS3-1, MS-PS3-4, and MS-PS3-5.
References
Committee on Conceptual Framework for the New K-12 Science Education Standards, & National Research Council. (2011).
A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
NGSS Lead States. (2013).
Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.